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Arabella

Heart
Latin
"yielding to prayer"

Arabella Origin and Meaning

The name Arabella is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "yielding to prayer".

Arabella, lovely and elegant, has long been well used in Britain and finally made it onto the American list in 2005. Its meaning may also be interpreted as "beautiful," thanks to -bella.

Arabella was used as a given name beginning in the 12th century with the birth of Arabella de Leuchars, granddaughter of William the Lion, King of Scotland. It is derived from the Latin orabilis, from which Arabella gets its meaning. Some scholars tie Arabella to Amabel, claiming that the former developed as a variation of the latter in Scotland, much like the name Annabel.

Arabella has been a great favorite in English novels, dating as far back as Samuel Richardson's Clarissa and Henry Fielding's Tom Jones, and also appeared in The Vicar of Wakefield, Dickens's Pickwick Papers, George Eliot's Felix Holt and Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, and more recently in Harry Potter.

Arabella is the title of a lyric comic opera by Richard Strauss, and was chosen for their daughters by Ivanka Trump and Dr. Oz. A real life heroine is Arabella Mansfield (born Belle Aurelia), the first American woman to become a lawyer.

Though off its 2017 peak, Arabella is a sophisticated choice especially recommended for parents who love the super-popular Isabella but want something more distinctive.

# 231 in the US

Arabella Rank in US Top 1000

# 36 on Nameberry

Arabella Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Arabella Popularity

20 Names Similar to Arabella

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Famous People Named Arabella

  • Arabella Mansfield (born Belle Aurelia Babb)first woman lawyer in the U.S.
  • Arabella WeirBritish comedienne, actress, and writer
  • Arabella Churchillmistress of King James II of England
  • Arabella SteinbacherGerman classical violinist
  • Arabella Burton BuckleyEnglish scientist and author
  • Arabella MortonAustralian actress
  • Arabella SpencerChurchill, granddaughter of British PM Winston Churchill
  • (Cosima) ArabellaAsereba Kiesbauer, German,Austrian TV presenter
  • Arabella Rosalind Hungerford "Bella" PollenEnglish fashion designer and novelist
  • Arabella ÁrbenzGuatemalan model and actress; daughter of Guatemalan President Jacobo Árbenz
  • Arabella FieldAmerican actress
  • Arabella Fermorinspiration for Belinda in Alexander Pope's The Rape of the Lock
  • Arabella GoddardEnglish pianist
  • Arabella Yarrington "Belle" Huntington2nd wife of American railway tycoon Collis Huntington; 2nd wife of Henry Huntington
  • Arabella Kennedy (b. 1956)stillborn daughter of U.S. President John F. Kennedy
  • Arabella Simone Eigenmann (b.2017)daughter of Geoff Eigenmann

Arabella in Pop Culture

  • "Arabella" comic opera by Richard Strauss and its main character
  • "Arabella" novel by Georgette Heyer and its main character
  • Arabella Danesimain character in 1968 film "Arabella"
  • Arabella Fermorsubject of Alexander Pope's poem "The Rape of the Lock, 1712
  • Arabellamain character in "The Female Quixote" by Charlotte Lennox, 1752
  • ArabellaClarissa Harlow's elder sister in Samuel Richardson's "Clarissa," 1745
  • Arabella Huntcharacter in Henry Fielding's "Tom Jones," 1749
  • Arabella Wilmontcharacter in Oliver Goldsmith's "The Vicar of Wakefield," 1766
  • Arabella Allen'a black,eyed young lady, in a very nice little pair of boots' in Charles Dickens' "Pickwick Papers," 1836
  • Arabella Briggscharacter in W.M. Thackeray's "Vanity Fair," 1847
  • Arabella Trefoilhusband,hunting character in "The American Senator," by Anthony Trollope, 1877
  • ArabellaDuchess of Berwick, character in Oscar Wilde's "Lady Windermere's Fan," 1892
  • Arabella Donncharacter in Thomas Hardy's "Jude the Obscure," 1894
  • "Little Arabella Miller" nursery rhyme
  • Arabella Willowcharacter in Shirley Jackson's "The Sundial"
  • Arabella Figgcharacter in the Harry Potter series
  • Arabella Lucrecharacter in Winifred Phelps' "Temptation Sordid or Virtue Rewarded"
  • Arabellacharacter in the 1996 film 'Far Harbor'
  • Arabella Chandlercharacter in American soap 'All My Children'
  • Arabella WhippleLucy's mother in "The Ballad of Lucy Whipple" by Karen Cushman
  • Lady Arabella Marchand du Belmontcharacter in 2011 TV movie 'A Princess for Christmas"
  • Princess Arabellacharacter 2004 movie 'The Prince and Me"
  • "Arabella" song by the Arctic Monkeys
  • Arabella Strangecharacter in Susanna Clarke's novel "Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell"
  • Arabellathe Spanish town Inigo grew up in in the book "The Princess Bride"
  • Arabella Bishoplove interest in the 1935 movie "Captain Blood", played by Olivia de Havilland